Originally posted on Facebook HERE
I’m just so in awe of life. Of being here at all. All of it. It’s overwhelmingly incredible. Every second of every day I live in wonder. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the beings in my life. I’m not really just thinking about the people in my life as much as all the beings, all the living things, including people. And how nothing is ever static. Everything is always moving. We really have no control, either. We try to control things, but really – how much is under our realm? Not a lot. But I have so many incredible friends and family in my life. My heart really swells when I think about all the people I know. And our circle of friends is always changing. People move, relationships end, bands break up, jobs change… and all of a sudden there’s a disturbance in the force. My recent job change has really created a rift. A whole pile of relationships are stronger than ever now, but on the other end there’s a few that have become strained and a couple where I really feel I’ll probably never see or speak to them again except maybe in passing. Even then it might be awkward. And that’s life, you know? We attract and repel people with our actions. In looking back over the years, 20 years ago I had a totally different network of people in my life than I do now. 20 years back from that – 1982 – very different. Sometimes we’re very close to someone for a long time and they just fall away from our lives – I can think of quite a few people like that. In the 70s, my house was the “jam” house where my parents let us practice in the basement. I specifically remember when I was just learning how to play bass, a good friend of mine and I would get together and just play for hours. He played saxophone. We’d just play blues, basically. Or make songs up. Get some beer. And just play. Bass and sax. It was awesome. One of the cool things about Facebook is that, even though we were really good friends back then, we did lose touch a bit over the years. Our lives went in different directions. But we’ve remained friends and I get to see where he’s at these days by his posts. I have some great memories from back then, but we’re no longer a huge part of each other’s lives anymore. From 2009-2020 I worked out with a personal trainer. We stopped during COVID. I still consider him one of my best friends, but we don’t see each other as much anymore because we’re both running our own businesses and don’t have that daily/weekly interaction anymore. And at that time I started a weekly yoga routine with another person. I don’t think you can train with someone without them becoming a friend. 20 years ago I didn’t know her at all, now I consider her one of my best friends. I’m so glad a mutual friend introduced us. And in looking back on all this, it’s so incredible to watch life play out. The guy who was best man at our wedding over 20 years ago? Haven’t seen or talked to him in years. He was my best friend back then. I should really call him and see where he’s at. And what about our companions? Gizmo? How amazing it is that we have him in our household. Every single person we know has their own story of how they met us. Every companion animal, too. And – we all have situations in life that make us wonder “why is this happening to me”, too. Losing a pet – ugh, what a terrible feeling. People we know who get hurt in accidents, or start to suffer from dementia… tough to deal with. Having a special needs child – I can’t even imagine the mixed emotions that go along with that. I have several friends who I think do a great job with handling that one. So, anyway – in the ever flowing wave of friends and family – I like where I’m at today. So many wonderful people. The people you surround yourself with determine in many ways where you’ll be at in the future, and I’m surrounded by some truly great people. Thanks for being one of them 🙂
